Preserves let you reap the bounty of a fruitful summer all year round

Okanagan peaches are available from late July to early September, and make fabulous preserves.B.C. Tree Fruits / PNG

Preserving is fun, delicious and a great way to save money and lessen our impact on the planet. We have tips and recipes to make the most of B.C.'s harvest.

Any day now, the first cherries will ripen and the harvest madness will begin at Backyard Farm.

It won’t end until late September, when the last apple is plucked, the shelves are loaded with gleaming jars and the six big chest freezers are bursting with fruit ready for pies and sauces. That’s what you reap when you have 100 or so fruit trees packed into two acres of paradise.

Chris Van Hooydonk.Joanne Sasvari /
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And that means Chris Van Hooydonk is spending a lot of time over the next three months canning, freezing and drying all that bounty.

“The idea for me was always going back to the roots of food, and the magic of preserving is such an important part of our farming history,” says the chef-owner of the Oliver-area catering and private dining facility.

“I’m probably the only culinary operation in the valley that is using their own farmed produce year round.”

But he’s certainly not the only one who’ll be putting up at least a few jars this summer, whether it’s the cherries Mission Hill Family Estate serves at its wine tastings in Kelowna or the jams Spirit Ridge chef Murray McDonald offers at brunch at The Bear, The Fish, The Root and The Berry in Osoyoos.

Preserving has become a huge culinary trend over the last decade, both for chefs and home cooks. It’s fun and it’s delicious. It’s a great way to save money and lessen our impact on the planet. Most of all, it’s the only way to enjoy local produce after the growing season is done.

As Van Hooydonk says, “Preserving allows you to go back to the summer in the greyness of winter.”

Pack your pantry

Pick a piece of fruit off the tree and two things start to happen right away: It stops ripening, and it begins to decay.

Shelves of preserves for sale at Backyard Farm near Oliver.Courtesy of Chris Van Hooydonk /
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That’s why throughout history humans have learned to preserve their food by freezing it in northerly climes, drying it in warmer ones, and using the transformative powers of salt, sugar, spices, fat and acid just about everywhere.

In the 19th century, the development of canning, pasteurization and quick-freezing techniques revolutionized food preservation; in the 20th century, vacuum packing and chemical preservatives did the same. Preserving food became big business and, for most of us, a lost skill.

But in recent years, as we’ve become more concerned about the provenance of our food, the health impacts of chemical preservatives and the environmental consequences of shipping it from halfway around the globe, we’ve rediscovered the joy of preserving it ourselves.

That’s especially true in a place like B.C., where the growing season is short and the harvest season for individual tree fruits is even shorter, a “micro-season” when they are at their peak.

In the Okanagan Valley, cherries are the first tree fruits to ripen, starting in mid-July and gone in about a month. Following rapidly are the apricots, then peaches and nectarines, plums, pears and apples. By October, the trees are bare.

But if you have a canning pot and a few hours to spare, your pantry won’t be.

From the farm

As a farmer, Van Hooydonk knows the value of preserving fruit — it not only ensures his family, including two young daughters, will eat well in the depth of winter, but is a good way to use the blemished and imperfect produce that he could never sell or serve fresh.

Farming, he points out, is hard work, and with preserving, “You pay tribute to all that effort.

“We’re raising our kids and trying to create a lifestyle that’s sustainable, but also make a statement about the way our industry should go,” he adds. “It’s a huge amount of work, but it’s really satisfying for us.”

He bought the property about six years ago, when he was still the executive chef at Burrowing Owl, the winery he can see across the valley from his dining room window. But he was aching to connect with the land, to cook things he grew himself, and to feed them to like-minded people.

“We want to be more connected with our food, and it’s our responsibility to share that connection with people,” he says.

So when this nearly century-old house nestled in a small orchard became available, he jumped at the opportunity. The previous owners taught him how to prune and maintain the trees, many of which are 35 to 50 years old, bearing heirloom fruits that are almost unknown today.

Among them are cherry trees, including Staccato, Lapin and sour varieties, plum trees, apricots, apples, pears and “early, mid and late-season peaches,” as well as hazelnuts, walnuts, currants, kiwi fruit and “a huge, 90-foot mulberry tree. Two weeks from now, the grass will be purple, the dog will be purple,” Van Hooydonk says. “And we’ve got nectarines, too, six trees, all different varieties.”

Once the first cherries ripen in July, he and his wife Mikkel hit the ground running. “Last year we picked 2,000 pounds and we could have picked 10,000,” he says. And they keep on picking fruit until the end of apple season.

Some of their bounty they share with neighbours like Jeff Van Geest, the chef at Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek Winery. The rest they freeze, dry and can themselves.

Fun and fulfilling

Drying is perhaps the simplest of the preserving processes they employ, thanks to their $800 Excalibur dehydrator.

“We do a lot of sun-dried cherries — we like to use them on our cheese plates,” says Van Hooydonk, who also has a friend in Oliver who uses them in high-end chocolates.

They also quick-freeze trays of tree-ripened pitted cherries and sliced peaches, apricots and nectarines so they can use just what they need, when they need it for, say, a gastrique or pie filling. There’s less waste this way, and more options for down the road. “We have six giant chest freezers of fruit by September,” Van Hooydonk says.

The rest of the fruit he cans, either as is or transformed into chutneys, jams, pickles, vinegars and sauces.

He’s made vanilla bean and bourbon canned peaches, for instance, as well as apple pie filling, red wine spiced cherries, barbecue sauce, hot sauce, elderflower cordial and a popular peach chutney that is always on the cheese plate and available for sale. “It’s as much a marketing tool for me as it is a retail sale,” he admits.

Most of all, though, canning is more than just a way to preserve summer in a jar.

“I find it quite cathartic. It allows me to take my brain to a different place. It allows me to slow down a little bit,” he says.

It’s also a social activity, with friends putting down their devices, coming together and sharing both the workload and the bounty, which may be the best reason of all to get out the canning pot and invest in a set of mason jars.

“You end up spending time with friends in the kitchen because that’s where all the best parties end up anyway,” says Van Hooydonk. “It’s nice to slow down and reconnect, and that almost always happens through food.”

What’s in season when

Here’s when the most popular Okanagan tree fruits typically ripen; plan your preserving party accordingly.

Cherries: Mid July to mid August

Apricots: Mid-late July to early August

Peaches: Late July to early September

Plums: Mid August to early September

Pears: Mid August to mid September

Apples: Mid August to late October

Related

Canning guide

Canning isn’t hard, and it can be a lot of fun, but there a few things to keep in mind if you’ve never done it before.

Improperly canned foods carry the risk of serious food-borne illnesses so it’s important to pay attention to the details. Below is the basic water-bath canning process; for more details (and recipes), visit bernardin.ca.

Before you start, make sure you have the right tools: a canning pot with a silicone mat; glass jars, snap lids and bands; a lifter, magnetic wand, wide-mouthed funnel and ladle.

Then follow these three steps:

1.Sterilize the jars: Fill a canning pot with enough water to cover the jars by about 2 inches (5 cm). Place the jars and snap lids in the pot, and bring to a boil for at least 10 minutes. Leave jars in the pot until you’re ready to fill them, and keep the water simmering.

2. Fill the jars: Use a jar lifter and magnetic wand to remove the jars and snap lids from the canning pot. Place the funnel in a jar and ladle in the hot preserves into hot jars, leaving about half a centimetre headspace. Wipe the rims, then cover with the snap lids, then screw the bands on finger tight. Meanwhile, bring the water in the canning pot back up to a boil.

3. Process the jars: Put the filled jars back into the boiling water and process for 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the recipe. Using the lifter, remove the jars from the water and allow to cool. You’ll know the lids have sealed when you hear a satisfying “pop.” If you don’t hear a pop and there is a small bump on top of the snap lid, the jars have not sealed properly. Refrigerate these and consume their contents within a couple of weeks.

Related

Recipes

Backyard Farm Red Wine Spiced Cherries

This is one of Backyard Farm chef-proprietor Chris Van Hooydonk’s favourite ways to make the most of “cherry-picking madness.” “I typically pair them with our chocolate desserts, as they pair very well with Syrah, as well as fortified Port-style wines, and Port itself,” he says.

4 cups (1L) red wine, preferably Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) demerara sugar

2 cinnamon sticks, or 1 tbsp (15 mL) ground cinnamon

6 pieces whole star anise

Zest and juice of one orange

8 cups (2L) pitted fresh cherries

In a large saucepan, combine wine, sugar, spices, orange zest and juice. Bring to a simmer, and reduce by one-third. Add cherries, and return to a simmer for a couple of minutes, just until the cherries begin to release some juice but are still firm. Strain out cherries and set side, reserving the liquid.

Return liquid to saucepan and bring back to a simmer; continue to cook until it has reduced to a thick syrup.nReturn poached cherries to the syrup just until heated through, then ladle into hot, sterilized jars. Process for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 to 5 half-pint (250 mL) mason jars

Mission Hill Family Estate Oculus Cherries

If you’ve enjoyed one of the personalized wine tastings at Mission Hill in Kelowna, you’ve probably savoured these luxe cherries. If not, now you can make them at home. Best of all, you don’t have to pit them first.

1 lb (500 g) Lapin cherries

2 cups (500 mL) Mission Hill Family Estate Oculus wine

2 cups (500 mL) water

1 cup (250 mL) sugar

2 tbsp (25 mL) aged balsamic vinegar

Wash and de-stem cherries; place in sterilized jars. Bring remaining ingredients to a simmer in a medium saucepan, stirring until the sugar is fully dissolved, then pour over cherries to cover. Process for 20 minutes.

Makes 4 pint (500 mL) or 2 2 pint (1L) jars

Canned peaches

This recipe from B.C. Tree Fruits can be used for both peaches and nectarines and, if you reduce the amount of sugar slightly, for apples, pears, cherries and plums, too. For more info and recipes, check out the canning guide at bctreefruits.com.

3 1/4 cups (810mL) sugar

5 cups (1.25L) water (plus additional for blanching and cooling)

2 to 3 trays of ice cubes

About 3/4 cup (180 mL) lemon juice, divided

10 lb (4.5 kg) freestone ripe but firm peaches, small to medium in size, about 40

Optional: 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, per jar

Mix the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and heat, stirring, just until the sugar is fully dissolved. Cover and keep warm until ready to use.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl about halfway with water, ice cubes and 1/2 cup (125 mL) lemon juice. Add more ice if it starts to get too warm.

Wearing gloves and using a sharp knife, score the peaches along the seam all the way around. Lower them three at a time into the boiling water, and remove with a slotted utensil after 30 to 60 seconds. The skins should slip off easily.

Using both thumbs, gently push the skin of the peach from the blossom end toward the stem end. Pull the skin off, and gently push your thumbs into the knife slice — the hot water will have opened it up a bit. Remove the pit from the stem end; place both halves into the lemon/ice bath. Repeat the process, working a few peaches at a time.

Arrange the peach halves in the sterilized jars, rounded side up and in a circular pattern, repeating until the jars are full and firmly packed. If you like, add a split vanilla bean to each jar.

Transfer the warm syrup into a spouted pitcher and pour over the peaches, leaving about 1/2 inch (1 cm) of space at the top. Pour about 1 tsp (5 mL) of lemon juice into each jar.

Wipe the rim with a clean towel. Fill each jar a bit more syrup within 1/8 inch (0.5 cm) of the top of the jar; leaving very little headspace. This way, you’ll be sure to get rid of any air bubbles that could cause spoilage.

Process. Be sure to bring water to a full boil and process for 30 minutes, more if you live at high altitude. When you lift the hot jars from the canner, proceed very slowly; do not tilt or shake the jars, and place them on a tea towel or a rack. (Don’t worry if you still get a little syrup leaking out.)

Once the lids “pop,” tighten the bands; if they haven’t popped within an hour, refrigerate the peaches and eat within a week.

Makes 6 to 7 litre-sized jars

Apricot Butter

Fruit butters are double-cooked, intensely flavourful, lightly sweetened fruit purées, ideal for topping pancakes or toast or tucking inside a layer cake. If you have a bounty of apricots, just double or triple the recipe as needed, and count yourself fortunate indeed.

Combine apricots and water in a large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until apricots are very soft, about 20 minutes.

Transfer apricot mixture in batches to a food mill or a food processor and purée just until you have a uniform texture. (Do not liquefy.) You should have 6 cups of purée.

Combine the purée with the sugar in a large, clean, stainless-steel saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring often, then reduce heat and continue cooking until the mixture is thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and, if you like, the ginger.

Ladle hot butter into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch (0.5 cm) headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, place snap lids on jars and apply the bands just until they are fingertip tight.

Process in the canner for 10 minutes, following the directions in the canning guide.

Note: To peel the apricots, cut an X in the bottom (opposite from the stem end) of each fruit. Plunge them briefly into boiling water, then immediately into an ice bath. The peels should slide off easily.

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